Apparatus for conditioning textile materials



1 March 27, 1934.

w. w. sTBsoN ET AL} APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS FiledJuly 27, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l 5Q "J JIGLlEZ A TT EYS.

WITNESSES I March 27,1934. I w S BSON Em 1,952,825

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed July 27 1951 3Sheets-Sheet 2 I' III WITNESSEIB INVENTORISI 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IIINVENTORIS'.

jmziamsmfi 0 1156 r TTORNEYS March 27, 1934. W. w. SIBSON AL APPARATUSFOR CONDITII'JNING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed Jul -27, 1931 FIG 1rIIIIIIIIllIIl I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I- I I UI I I I I I I I I I I I Patented Mar. 27, 1934 APPARATUS FORCONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS Walter W. Sibson and Harold H. Belcher,Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to The Philadelphia Drying MachineryCompany, Philadelphia, Pa.,

a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 27, 1931, Serial No.553,364

3 Claims. (01. 26-46) This invention is concerned with conditioningtextile materialsparticularly cloth and the like in continuouslengths-for the purpose of supplyingto them, after they have undergonedrying or calendering, a natural amount of moisture or re-gain such asthey would ordinarily absorb if left exposed indefinitely to the outsideair.

In one method heretofore extensively employed for the indicated purpose,humidified air was introduced into a closed space through which thematerial was progressed slowly over a circuitous course. While thismethod operated satisfactorily for light, thin and loosely woven cloth-made from wool, silk, mohair, etc., whereof the fibers freely absorbmoisture, it was diificult, due to quiescence of the humidified air, tosecure uniform penetration of thicker cloth of the same kinds, clothmade from cotton, hemp or other vegetable fibers less receptive tomoisture, or cloth previously sized on one side with a binding substancelike rubber. In another method frequently employed heretofore for thepurpose of conditioning, the humidity was created by spray nozzles oratomizers located within the closed space traversed by the material. Thelatter method was inturn unsatisfactory in that it was often attended byover saturation or excess wetting of the cloth in spots which sometimeseventually resulted in permanent injury to delicate fabrics, and,moreover made subsequent matching of colors diflicult of accomplishment.

The main object of our invention is to overcome the various drawbacks towhich attention has been directed above, and this desiderata we attainas hereinafter fully disclosed, through provision of a simpleconditioning method and apparatus in which the humidified air iscirculated between an exterior generating source, and a treating chamberthrough which the material is progressed, and in which the air isseparately circulated in greater volume so as to intimately anduniformly penetrate fibers of the material.

Other objects and attendant advantages of our invention will be manifestfrom the detailed description following in coordination with theattached drawings, wherein Fig. I shows, more or less diagrammatically,a plan view of a conditioning apparatus conveniently embodying thepresent improvements.

Fig. II is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus taken asindicated by the arrows II--II .in Fi I.

Fig. III is a cross sectional view of the apparatus taken as indicatedby the arrows III-III in Figs. I and II.

Fig. IV shows a transverse section of the treating chamber in which thematerial undergoing treatment is subjected to the action of thehumidified air, the section being taken as indicated by the arrows IVIVin Figs. I and II.

Figs.'V and VI are views corresponding to Figs. II and III showing ourinvention embodied in a somewhat difierent form of conditioning machine.

Referring first to Figs. I and II of these illustrations, our improvedconditioning apparatus embodies an enclosure 10 whereof, after commonpractice in this art, the walls are constructed double from sheet metalwith interposition of suitable thermo-insulation, and supported by askeleton frame-work 11 of structural iron. The cloth C to be conditionedis directed into the top of the enclosure 10 at the left hand end inFig. I, over a roller or drum 12 to a pole conveyor comprising a pair ofspaced chains 13 which trace a rectangular course horizontally andvertically of the enclosure 10. This course of the chains 13 isdetermined by sprocket wheels 14, 15, 16 and 17 over which they aretrained, the said sprocket wheels being respectively mounted in pairson'transverse shafts 18, 19, 20 and 21 having journal support insuitable bearings on the frame 11 of the en'- closure 10-. The crosswisepoles 22 of the conveyor are supported, after common practice, betweenopposite links of the chains 13 with the cloth C festooned over them,the direction of progression being from left to right as shown by thearrow in Fig. I. The pole conveyor is driven through power applied to ashaft 23 which extends crosswise of the top of the enclosure 10, andwherefrom motion is communicated to the sprocket shaft 19, at a greatlyreduced speed, through worm gear couples conventionally indicated at 24and 25. Upon leaving the feed drum 12 and previous to entering theenclosure 10 at the left hand end, the cloth C is guidedover astationarily-positioned roller 26 directly to the conveyor poles 22.After progression through the enclosure 10, the cloth C is finallywithdrawn from the conveyor poles 22 over another fixed roller 27 at thetop of the opposite end of the enclosure 10. From the roller 27 thecloth C is guided by a drum 28 at the exterior, to a suitable deliveryfolding mechanism comprehensively designated 29. By means of a verticallongitudinal partition 30 (Figs. I, III and IV) the enclosure 10 issubdivided. into a main and an auxiliary compartment 31 and 32,respectively, the first-mentioned or wider one 'ment 31.

31 constituting a treating chamber, and being longitudinally traversedby the conveyor. These compartments 31 and 32 communicate over the topand beneath the bottom of the partition 30, which, as shown in Figs. IIIand IV, terminates short of the roof aswell as of the floor of theenclosure 10. A rapid circulation of the air is continuously maintainedwithin the enclosure 10 between the subdivisions 31 and 32 as shown bythe arrows in Fig. IV, by a pair of disk fans 33 and 34 which arerespectively mounted on shafts 35 and 36. As illustrated, the fan shafts35, 36 extend outward through one of the side walls of the enclosure 10where they are coordinated for rotation in unison by a belt 37. The fanshaft 85 carries an additional pulley 38 for belt connection with asuitable source of power, not illustrated. To facilitate circulation bythe fans 33, 34 within the enclosure 10, we have provided the latterwith a sloped sub-ceiling 40 which tends to deflect the air downwardthrough the vertical loops of the cloth C suspended from the conveyorpoles 22. By virtue of its slope, the sub-ceiling 40 tends also todivert any water which may condense from the saturated circulating air,toward the side of the enclosure 10, thereby preventing it from droppingon the cloth C within the compart- It will also be noted that as aconsequence of the insulating space above it, the subceiling is immuneagainst the influence of outside temperature so that the condensation isreduced to a minimum. There is also provided beneath the fans 33, 34 aninclined baffle 41 which facilitates flow of the circulated air into thespace above the pole conveyor. A longitudinally-extending slottedhorizontal diaphragm 42 in the lower part of the subdivision 31 servesto b reak up the circulatory flow of the air, thereby to insure morethorough and effective distribution through and between the loops of thecloth C.

For the purpose of humidifying the air continuously circulated withinthe enclosure 10 as just explained, we employ a generating source 45,which, as shown, is entirelyseparate from, and located exteriorly of thesaid enclosure 10. This generating source 45 is conventionallyrepresented as being a commercial humidifier of an upright type withsuitable means (not illustrated) therein for atomizing' water underregulatable temperature, as well as a fan 46 for expelling the airtherefrom. From Figs. I-III it will be observed that the humidifier 45communicates with the enclosure 10 by way of upper and lower ducts 4'7and 48. The upper duct 47 enters the enclosure through one of its sidewalls at the upper right hand corner thereof, see Fig. II, and extendsalmost to the opposite side wall, see Fig. III; and the said ductdischarges vertically downward through a bottom opening 49 into the topof the compartment 31 through which the cloth C undergoing conditioningis progressed. The lower duct 48 on the other hand, enters the enclosure10 through the same side wall as the duct 47, but at the left handbottom corner thereof, and extends to the partition 30 at a levelbeneath the horizontally slatted diaphragm 42. By action of the fan 46within the humidifier 45, the humidified air is separately circulatedbetween the enclosure 10 and said humidifier by way of the ducts 47 and48, but the volume of the air so circulated is small as compared to thatrecirculated within the enclosure by the fans 33 and 34. Due to thediagonal allocation of the ducts 47 and 48, by the combined action ofthe fans 33 and 34 within the enclosure 10 and the fan 46 of thehumidifier 45, it will be seen that a spiral path will be determined forthe air longitudinally of the treating compartment 31 in a directioncontrary to that of the progression of the cloth C. However, the ducts47 and 48 may obviously be otherwise located to determine a generalspiral flow of the air within the chamber 31 in the same generaldirection as that of the progression of the cloth C if this should befound desirable or expedient in the treatment of certain classes ofgoods.

Thus, in the operation of the apparatus, as a consequence of beingconstantly circulated between the enclosure 10 and the humidifier 45,the air is maintained in a substantially even state of humidification;while the more voluminous circulation induced by the fans 33, 34 withinthe enclosure 10 through'the intervals between the cloth C, insuresthorough penetration and uniform absorption of the moisture by thefabric fibers. Accordingly, with our improved method, it is possible torestore to the cloth C after it has been dried or calendered, thenatural amount of moisture desired, with avoidance of over saturationlocally or in spots, as well as stains or discolorations such as wouldrender subsequent color-matching difficult of accomplishment.

In Figs. V and VI, we have shown our invention embodied in a somewhatdifferent type of conditioning machine, which, instead of having a poleconveyor such as described in connection with Figs. I-IV, is fitted withtwo horizontal series of rollers 50 and 51 at vertically spaced levels,the said rollers defining a circuitous looped up and down course for thecloth C incident to progressing the latter through the enclosure 10a.

The rollers 50 and 51 may be intergeared, aftercommon practice, foractuation in unison, and driven, under power transmitted through a belt:52. from a pulley shaft 53 at the top of the enclosure 10a. In allother respects, the appurtenances associated with the apparatus of Figs.V and VI are identical with those of the previous embodiment; and, inorder to dispense with repetitive description, we have designated allthe corresponding parts with the same reference numerals heretoforeused, distinguished, in each instance, by the subscript a.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. Apparatus for conditioning textile material such as cloth incontinuous lengths comprising an enclosure afiording a horizontallyelongate treating chamber; means for progressing the clothlongitudinally of the treating chamber; an external generating source ofhumidified air including means for maintaining a circulation of the airbetween it and the treating chamber with determination of a general flowcontinuously lengthwise of the treating chamber; separate means forconcurrently circulating the humidified air within the treating chamberthrough and between the cloth; and an inclined sub-ceiling in the topfiow duct having a bottom opening for discharge of the humidified airvertically downward directly across the cloth; separate means forconcurrently circulating the air within the enclosure through andbetween the cloth; and an inclined sub-ceiling in the treating chamberto deflect the humidified air vertically downward through the cloth.

3. Apparatus for conditioning textile materials, such as cloth incontinuous lengths, comprising a horizontally-elongate enclosure with amain and an auxiliary compartment communicating above and beneath alongitudinal subdividing partition; means for circulating the airbetween the two compartments; means for progressing the cloth,longitudinally of the main compartment aforesaid; an external generatingsource of humidified air including means for maintaining a moderategeneral circulation of humidified air between it and the enclosure byway of flow ducts diagonally connecting into the top and bottom of themain compartment of the enclosure; the upper flow duct having a bottomopening for discharge ofvthe humidified air vertically downward directlyacross the cloth; and an inclined sub-ceiling in the main treatingchamber to deflect the humidified air vertically downward through thecloth.

WALTER W. SIBSON. HAROLD H. BELCI-IER.

